10/28/14
This weeks, Thank You Tuesday’s, shout out goes out to the staff of Easter Seals #1 (ES1) located on Alta Arden in Sacramento and to Robert’s afternoon driver, who ensures Robert is transported home usually by 3:00-3:15pm. Until recently Robert was enrolled over in the Easter Seals #2 (ES2) site on Fair Oaks and Madison in Carmichael, Ca. where the majority of the attendees are ambulatory and only a few require a wheelchair for mobility. The new location ES1 is geared more for those participants that require the use of a wheelchair or some other form of assistance to get around. The group of people working here are amazing, they’ve welcomed Robert in with open arms and several of the other participants have taken him under their wing for support. Just the other day when I was dropping Robert off, we arrived a little earlier than normal (10-15 min.) and Robert was only the second participant to arrive right after Torrance who just happens to be the sites unofficial greeter, something he apparently enjoys doing. Before the back wheels of his wheelchair made it across the doorstop everyone there, 10-12 team members all yelled out, “Robert, Good Morning,” the sites director even came out of her office and shook his hand and said good morning and was asking him about his weekend, like walking into the Cheers Bar. It’s obvious everyone I’ve met so far that works there, enjoys what they’re doing and really enjoy the people attending. My hat goes off to you and this is why you get this week’s Tuesday’s Thank You. 
The other part of this week’s thank you goes out to Robert’s new afternoon route driver and I am so sorry I forgot your name but since there is only one drive, you know who you are if your reading this post. Robert’s ES2 van, consisted of Ernie the driver and usually anywhere from 3-4 riders and he (Ernie) thought he had it hard. Well shut my mouth, Robert’s new driver from ES1 is busy. When she get Robert home they have usually already dropped off one possibly two other riders, then there’s Robert and she then has four to five others still to drop off and then goes to another program and has another full fan to drop off, now that’s busy. She is always pleasant, has kind things to say about Robert even though when I get him I’m getting the other side of him she will still say nothing but positive comments about Robert. He does have his moments and either he is truly keeping it in on the van ride home or she’s just not spilling the beans, pointing the finger, letting the cat out of the bag, you get my drift. The thank you goes out to the driver for taking on Robert as well as being able to hang in there with a van full of disabled riders and still come out on the other end with positive things to say. Your patience, drive, dedication, treatment of and commitment to your job and your riders is why I’ve chosen you as today’s,
Thank you for taking the time to read my post(s). If there is anything you would like to read about pertaining to the caregiving, caree, chronic pain, epilepsy or the health care system in general, please feel free to respond to this post of send me a message at either of the email addresses listed below.
Namaste’, Richard K. www.PickYourPain.org, PickYourPain@att.net, kreisr1@sbcglobal.net AUTHORS BIO: Richard is a trifecta caregiver, along with his wife he cares for himself, with Chronic Back Pain which he’s had for 21 years. He cares for his brother in-law, Robert who has dealt with Epilepsy his entire life, now lives with Richard and his wife. He also advocates for his mother who has various cardiac related issues, severe hearing loss and other medical issues. You can read about his experiences with chronic pain and how he deals with his mothers and brother in-law’s issues on PickYourPain.org or at Caregiving.com. He is also involved in several of Caregiving.com’s support groups and chat rooms,he is co-host of an internet based radio show about caregiving. Richard is also a patient adviser, board member for www.Intake.me which is working to improve the intake process at medical facilities. Richard has three adult children who despite them having to deal with his medical issues growing up, he says, “They turned out better than I’d hoped for.”
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